Prolonged confinement in Shanghai, Easyjet which cancels more than 200 flights, Ronapreve and Evusheld treatments less effective against Omicron...
Le Figaro
takes stock this Monday, April 4 on the latest information related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read the fileCovid-19: the coronavirus pandemic in figures and infographics
Separated children and parents: Shanghai defends its controversial anti-Covid measure
The metropolis of 25 million is the epicenter of China's worst Covid-19 outbreak since early 2020, linked to the Omicron variant.
The vast majority of Shanghainese are now confined to their homes.
The Ministry of Health announced more than 9,000 new positive cases in Shanghai on Monday - 95% asymptomatic.
In China, anyone who tests positive, even asymptomatic, is isolated from uncontaminated people.
Shanghai authorities confirmed on Monday that this measure also applies to children.
“If one of the parents is also infected, he can accompany the child and take care of him”
in a dedicated place
“where they will be treated”
, declared Monday Wu Qianyu, an official of the municipal health services.
Corn
“If the members of the family do not fulfill the conditions of accompaniment”
, that is to say are not contaminated themselves, the children will be separated from their parents, she underlined in front of the press.
Those over 7 years old will be accommodated in quarantine centers and those under 7 years old, if they are alone, will be cared for by public health centers - with a priori superior comfort.
Discontent is also mounting in Shanghai over the authorities' inability to overcome the current outbreak.
While the containment was supposed to be lifted this Tuesday in the city, it will finally continue due to the high number of positive cases detected.
“We will continue to carry out tests, continue the re-examination (of positive cases) and the transport of people”
infected to quarantine centers, said the Shanghai health authorities without much surprise on Monday evening.
»SEE ALSO –
Covid-19: health restrictions are tightened in northeast China
Easyjet cancels more than 200 flights since this weekend
British carrier EasyJet has canceled more than 200 flights since the weekend, while 60 more were canceled for the day on Monday, largely due to employees ill with Covid-19, and disruptions are expected to continue this week.
“We have taken steps to mitigate these disruptions by calling on employees who (were not supposed to work) this weekend”
but the company had to resort to cancellations despite everything, according to a spokesperson.
“Unfortunately new cancellations were necessary”
for Monday and Tuesday, he added, apologizing on behalf of the “low cost” carrier.
Read alsoCovid-19: Easyjet cancels more than 200 flights since this weekend
Ronapreve and Evusheld treatments less effective against Omicron
Two of the main anti-Covid treatments, Evusheld and Ronapreve, lose effectiveness against infections with the Omicron variant, but this reduction is much less marked compared to its BA.2 version, shows a study relayed on Monday April 4 by the Institut Pasteur.
“
The clinical efficacy of these treatments against Omicron infection is (…) probably less good than against Delta
”, the previous dominant variant, summarized researcher Olivier Schwartz, who co-directed this study, in a press release.
This work, published at the end of March in the journal
Nature Medicine
, looked at the ability of two treatments, Ronapreve and Evusheld, to act against infection with the Omicron variant, which has become widely dominant in the world since the end of 2021.
” SEE ALSO –
Covid-19: Olivier Véran evokes the possibility of being recontaminated with the BA2 sub-variant after Omicron
Roche obtains “priority review” status for its tocilizumab in the United States
The Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche announced on Monday that the United States Medicines Agency had granted
"priority review"
status to its drug tocilizumab intended for patients hospitalized with Covid-19 infection.
This status is reserved for drugs intended for serious diseases for which there are few treatment options, with a view to examining their application for approval as a priority.
If approved, this drug marketed depending on the country under the name of Actemra or RoActemra would be the first immunomodulator approved in the United States for patients hospitalized with Covid-19 infection, Roche said in a press release.
The decision of the American drug agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is expected during the second half of 2022, added the Swiss group.
Roche has filed for approval for this intravenous therapy for hospitalized adult patients on corticosteroids who require oxygen.
This application was filed on the basis of four studies conducted with 5,500 hospitalized patients.
